Forty-five people are vying to fill the shoes of former Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday at city hall, including former politicians, a well-known police officer and a Ford family friend.

The deadline for applying to represent Etobicoke’s Ward 3 came and went on Thursday, with a number of familiar faces seeking the position.

City council voted last month to fill the seat vacated by Mr. Holyday, now an MPP, with an appointment, instead of calling a by-election, as Mayor Rob Ford had urged.

The list of candidates includes former Ontario cabinet minister Chris Stockwell, former MP turned lobbyist John Nunziata, Toronto police constable Tony Vella, former Etobicoke mayor Bruce Sinclair and former councillor Mario Giansante. Ross Vaughan, a Ford family friend, is also seeking the job.

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Last month, Mr. Holyday tapped his preferred successor, Peter Leon, a long-time Etobicoke resident, volunteer and member of the area’s federal Conservative riding association. He has pledged not to run in the 2014 general election if he is appointed.

Councillor Doug Ford, who makes no secret of his disgust with an appointment process, said he has no favourites going in to the vote and in fact has refused to take calls from prospective candidates.

“I’m going to look for a person who is not planning to run in the next election because it would be unfair to anyone else running,” said Mr. Ford. He said he is not necessarily looking for someone with political experience. “I’m going to look for someone who [has similar] views as Doug Holyday, because he was elected with 80%, 78% of the vote.”

Etobicoke York community council will hold a special meeting on Oct. 1st, to hear from applicants and pick a preferred candidate. The same process will then occur at city council on Oct. 10. Voting is by ballot, and the winner must receive 50% plus 1 of votes. Second and third balloting rounds are held if necessary and ties are determined by lot.

Whoever is selected by council will serve the rest of this term of office, which ends on Nov. 30, 2014.